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100pagesaday's review
5.0
A good book for older grade-school readers or even adults who would like to learn about honeybees and colony collapse disorder. Sandra Markle has done a great job taking the reader through the basics of the honeybee hive including the types of bees and the jobs they do and how bees help us. There are wonderful pictures to help guide you along the way. The potential hypotheses for what might be causing the collapse of honeybees are explained along with what solutions are currently being worked on.
A great science read for kids and adults alike!
The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees was received as an Advanced Reading Copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A great science read for kids and adults alike!
The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees was received as an Advanced Reading Copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
aylea's review
4.0
Beekeepers have discovered that several of their bees have inexplicably gone missing. Without honeybees, many foods cannot get pollenated and be able to grow. In January 2007, beekeepers from across the world gathered to discuss the loss of the bees, calling the problem Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Without the essential worker bees, the hive cannot survive. Scientists have tried to find the problem with the disappearing bees, researching to see if urban development, overwork from farmers transporting bees year-round across the country for pollination, cell phones, mites, fungi, and other issues have contributed to CCD. No one knows for sure what is killing the bees, but scientists are hard at work to find answers and beekeepers do everything they can to keep the bees healthy.
The text itself is not particularly kid friendly or exciting, but kids who are interested in science or bees will enjoy the details and the bright, colorful pictures. The back of the book has some ideas to help local honeybees and resources for global efforts, making it more useful for classrooms and parents to help their child be involved in the scientific process beyond the pages of the book. The book provides a lot of detail into the biology of honeybees, the importance of pollination, and the scientific process that people go through to try to solve a problem. Although scientists have still not found a salutation, this book provides a good look of what is going on in science to protect this particular species and why it matters to everyday people.
The text itself is not particularly kid friendly or exciting, but kids who are interested in science or bees will enjoy the details and the bright, colorful pictures. The back of the book has some ideas to help local honeybees and resources for global efforts, making it more useful for classrooms and parents to help their child be involved in the scientific process beyond the pages of the book. The book provides a lot of detail into the biology of honeybees, the importance of pollination, and the scientific process that people go through to try to solve a problem. Although scientists have still not found a salutation, this book provides a good look of what is going on in science to protect this particular species and why it matters to everyday people.
saidtheraina's review
3.0
In 2006, Bee Farmers started noticing that their bees were dying - disappearing. What happened? This book explores the reasons at a kid level, with lots of great pictures.
Sandra Markle is one of my favorite Juvenile Nonfiction authors. I took this out to local elementary schools this month, and also took [b:Animals Heroes True Rescue Stories|4607423|Animal Heroes True Rescue Stories|Sandra Markle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266834000s/4607423.jpg|4657229] a few years ago. She does a great job of writing about true things in an engaging, accessible way.
Yay. Also, good cover.
Sandra Markle is one of my favorite Juvenile Nonfiction authors. I took this out to local elementary schools this month, and also took [b:Animals Heroes True Rescue Stories|4607423|Animal Heroes True Rescue Stories|Sandra Markle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266834000s/4607423.jpg|4657229] a few years ago. She does a great job of writing about true things in an engaging, accessible way.
Yay. Also, good cover.
sandylovesbooks's review
5.0
So many people don't realize how important honey bees and other bees are to our world. We wouldn't have certain foods if it weren't for the bees. This book has so much information and maybe we can learn to treat bees in a way that will be beneficial to both us and them. The illustrations are fantastic.
readingthroughtheages's review
5.0
Another great text detailing the loss of honeybees in the United States. Text is child-friendly and the illustrations are fantastic. Recommended 3-5.
corncobwebs's review
This book is great high-interest non-fiction for kids -- I can see it being useful in a classroom setting or for assignments, or just for general browsing. I learned a lot about honeybees -- I didn't know about CCD, and I didn't realize the extent to which honeybees are responsible for producing fresh fruits and vegetables. The photographs are excellent, and really complement/elevate the text. I just read [b:Flight of the Honey Bee|17262360|Flight of the Honey Bee|Raymond Huber|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367256873s/17262360.jpg|23859160], and that was OK -- it uses paintings instead of photographs (in non-fiction, I always prefer photographs, especially for scientific subjects), and the text is kind of flowery and poetic. Also, the author kind of personifies one of the bees (calling her "Scout"), which I wasn't sure was the best choice for a non-fiction book. All that to say, out of the recently published books for kids about honeybees, I think Markle's book is superior.
The only thing I didn't like about this book is that the title bills it as a "mystery" -- when I see the word mystery, I expect some kind of solution to be revealed at the end. I kept turning the pages because I really wanted to find out what was happening to these honeybees. But then it turns out that the answer is inconclusive at this point, or else it's an amalgamation of a variety of factors. I would have liked it better if there was a big "Ah ha!" moment where you figure out what happens.
Overall, though, this is an excellent book!
The only thing I didn't like about this book is that the title bills it as a "mystery" -- when I see the word mystery, I expect some kind of solution to be revealed at the end. I kept turning the pages because I really wanted to find out what was happening to these honeybees. But then it turns out that the answer is inconclusive at this point, or else it's an amalgamation of a variety of factors. I would have liked it better if there was a big "Ah ha!" moment where you figure out what happens.
Overall, though, this is an excellent book!
teaxmillions's review
5.0
I have to write a research paper for English class on a topic with two sides. I decided to do my paper on honeybees, more specifically Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) simply because I felt that not enough people care about this issue. CCD is a disorder when entire bee colonies die off for no apparent reason (though this book explores many of the things that MIGHT cause it).
My strong feelings for this topic aside, this book is going to be a valuable resource. It's very short and obviously written for someone who is much younger than I am, but it explains the basis of CCD easily and explains why it's such a problem. It also gives a background on how colonies work and how many different things can influence this issue. Because it's written for kids, it's really concise and to the point, which is what I needed. It also gives some pretty astonishing facts I didn't know about this crisis.
Recommend to those who want to know more about Colony Collapse Disorder and/or just want to learn about bees in general. Or those who are researching a possible topic for their papers. (hint hint wink wink).
My strong feelings for this topic aside, this book is going to be a valuable resource. It's very short and obviously written for someone who is much younger than I am, but it explains the basis of CCD easily and explains why it's such a problem. It also gives a background on how colonies work and how many different things can influence this issue. Because it's written for kids, it's really concise and to the point, which is what I needed. It also gives some pretty astonishing facts I didn't know about this crisis.
Recommend to those who want to know more about Colony Collapse Disorder and/or just want to learn about bees in general. Or those who are researching a possible topic for their papers. (hint hint wink wink).
scostner's review
3.0
I enjoy Sandra Markle's style, so I anticipated liking this book and I was not disappointed. Treating the topic as a mystery and presenting the theories and evidence from different experts creates an interesting narrative. It also chunks the information into logical sections that are easy to deal with individually, while still maintaining the flow of the book. As in her other books, the photographs are clear and well-captioned. The way the photos alternate with the pages of text gives readers a chance to digest the facts while they study the image, before they move on to the next possible cause of the vanishing bees.
Teachers will appreciate the well-researched and presented topic. Students will benefit from the glossary, and other back matter. There are lists of organizations to contact, as well as additional books and websites to check for more information on beekeeping. The table of contents and index facilitate the book's use for school assignments and reports.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
Teachers will appreciate the well-researched and presented topic. Students will benefit from the glossary, and other back matter. There are lists of organizations to contact, as well as additional books and websites to check for more information on beekeeping. The table of contents and index facilitate the book's use for school assignments and reports.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
glamourfaust's review
3.0
It is tough to write a book about a subject that is currently unfolding. The author does a good job of describing the importance of bees and touches lightly on the possible reasons for their disappearance. I think this book would be a good introduction for an older class and then have them find new research supporting the different hypotheses.
erine's review
Right now I'm looking at an enlarged photograph of a bee with a tracking device. All I can think is: "how on earth do those get put on?"